Tile construction and expansion joint for use therein



R. J. MOODY 3,395,507

TILE- CONSTRUCTION AND EXPANSION JOINT FOR USE THEREIN Aug. 6, 1968 Filed Aug. 23, 1965 INVENTOR.

5 mm m o I M/QAA J w "MW United States Patent 3,395,507 TILE CONSTRUCTION AND EXPANSION JOINT FOR USE THEREIN Robert J. Moody, Martinez, Calif., assignor to Alves Tile Company, San Carlos, Califi, a corporation of California Filed Aug. 23, 1965, Ser. No. 481,677 2 Claims. (Cl. 52-390) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An expansion joint for use in tile work being laid on a support surface and including a pair of spaced parallel elongate angle members having upwardly extending leg portions arranged to lie in spaced parallel planes, the space being filled by a strip of flexible material. The strip of flexible material and angle members are interconnected together with rivets to form a unitary assembly.

This invention relates to a tile construction and more particularly to such an installation which incorporates an expansion joint therefor.

Heretofore, expansion joints have taken the form of a slot or longitudinal recess lying at spaced locations in the tile work. The recess has commonly been filled with a material known as Thiokol rubber. In use, the Thiokol rubber tends to slump or raise according to the weather, and generally tends to sag after being poured in place and set. The exposed edge of-the tile work which abuts the Thiokol rubber expansion joint is easily chipped, especially under the sharp impacts of ladies high-heeled shoes. After the edge has been chipped, it is necessary to remove and replace the tile next to the joint, which is a costly procedure. There is, therefore, a need for a new and improved tile installation and expansion joint therefor.

A general object of the invention is to provide an improved tile installation and expansion joint therefor which will overcome the above named disadvantages.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved tile installation and expansion joint of the above character in which the tiles are protected at the exposed edge adjacent the expansion joint, especially from chipping impacts.

Another object of the invention is to provide an expansion joint of the above character which is adapted to be uniformly supported along its length.

Another object of the invention is to provide an expansion joint of the above character which is adapted to be supported continuously at a portion thereof which lies in contact with the sub-floor.

Another object of the invention is to provide an expansion joint of the above character which is construc-ted in a simple, yet effective, shape utilizing commonly available materials of low cost.

Another object of the invention is to provide an expansion joint of the above character having a unitary construction requiring no assembly at the job and having a uniform cross-section so that any required length can be easily made by mere cutting operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide an expansion joint of the above character which is adapted to be installed prior to the installation of the tile work and to be left permanently in place after such installation as a part thereof.

The above objects are achieved by a unitary expansion joint assembly which consists of a pair of spaced parallel elongate angle members having opposed and outwardly extending flanges adapted to rest in a common plane on a support surface. The angle members further include upwardly extending planar leg portions extending at right angles to the flanges and having a height above the "ice flanges substantially equal to the thickness of the tilework to be laid on the support surface. The angle members are positioned in back-to-back relation with their flanges extending in opposite directions. Means is provided for forming a flat strip made of resilient, compressible material disposed between the leg portions, such means including an upper portion extending continuously between the leg portions and flush with the top thereof to thereby provide a support surface which is flush with the upper surface of the tilework. Such strip forming means further includes other portions for cooperating with the upper portions to support the angle members so that their leg portions lie in spaced parallel planes. Means are provided for interconnecting the leg portions and the strip to form a self-supporting unitary assembly which can be used as a unit to provide an expansion joint.

These and other objects and features of the invention will be apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, which is an isometric view, partly in cross-section, of a tile construction and expansion joint for use therein incorporating the invention.

Referring to the drawing, the expansion joint 10 of the invention generally consists of a pair of spaced parallel elongate angle members 11 and 12 of L-shaped section placed back to back and separated by a planar strip 13 formed of a suitable compressible material.

The angle members 11 and 12 are provided with out wardly extending continuous flange portions 15 and 16 adapted to rest upon a support surface 17 such as that provided by a wall or sub-floor. The flange portions 15 and 16 are provided with spaced nail holes 18 for securing the expansion joint to the mounting base with nails 21.

The angle members are provided with upwardly extending leg portions 23 and 24 which are integrally formed with the flange portions. The leg portions extend upwardly at right angles to the flange portions and are disposed in a spaced parallel relationship to each other. They have a height above the flange portions 15 and 16 substantially equal to the thickness of mortar and tile to be installed thereon.

The leg portions 23 and 24 are thick walled, i.e., sufliciently thick to easily carry a load such as that caused by the step of a ladys heel. For aluminum alloy, a thickness of 4; inch has been found satisfactory.

The angle members 11 and 12 are positioned back to back with their flange portions 15 and 16 extending in opposite directions and the leg portions 23 and 24 lying in spaced parallel planes. The leg portions are provided with holes 25 which accommodate rivets 26 mounted therein and having a length substantially equal to the combined thickness of the leg portions and the strip 13. The holes 25 and rivets 26 are spaced on 6 inch centers and serve to interconnect the strip 13 and the angle bars into a unitary assembly. The holes 25 and rivets 26 are aligned transversely to the parallel planes of the leg portions so that bending forces on the rivets are avoided as the joint 10 is compressed or expanded.

The resilient compressible strip 13 is made of any durable, preformed rubber-like sheet, such as neoprene rubber. The thickness of the strip depends on the overall spacing of the expansion joints in the installation and the amount of compression encountered. For an 8 foot spacing in a typical ceramic tile flooring, a thickness of A; inch is generally satisfactory. The width of the strip is at least that of the height of the leg portions but is preferably made about twice that height, as hereinafter discussed. The strip 13 is mounted between the angle members so that its top surface 27 is flush with the aligned top surfaces 28 of the leg portions 23 and 24. The strip 13 is normally provided with a portion 13a which depends downwardly from the flange portions and 16 for a purpose hereinafter described.

The drawing depicts a typical utilization of the expansion joint in a tile work installation. As shown, there is provided a concrete sub-floor or base 31 which has an upper support surface 17. The base 31 is provided with an expansion slot or recess 32. The recess 32 may be formed when the concrete 31 is poured, or may be cut into the concrete after it has set. A suitable waterproof membrane 33 is normally placed over the surface 17 of the concrete. The expansion joint 10 is set onto the concrete base or sub-floor 31 so that the depending portion 13a of the strip 13 is disposed in the expansion recess 32. In this manner, the expansion recess of the base 31 and the expansion joint of the overlying tile work are in alignment to thereby minimize any differential expansion effects between them. The expansion joint 10 is secured to the base or concrete sub-floor with nails 21 as hereinbefore described. Tiles 36 are installed over a mortar bed 37 so that the upper surfaces of the tiles 36 lie in the same plane as the upper surfaces 27 and 28 of the expansion joint 10 to form therewith a flat surface for the floor.

The following is a specific example of an expansion joint constructed according to the invention and found very suitable in a wide variety of applications:

Angle members 11 and 12% inch thick, aluminum alloy having 1% inch height leg and 1 /2 inch wide flange Strip 13 /s inch thick, neoprene rubber, 3 inches wide Rivets /s inch long having flattened heads on both sides inch high, mounted on 6 inch centers, and 1 inch from the ends of the expansion joint In certain applications, it may be very diflicult or impossible to form an expansion recess 32 in the concrete subflooring. If such is the case, the strip 13 is reduced in size so that there is no depending portion 13a. In this way, the expansion joint can rest flush upon the concrete sub-flooring and the mortar 37 and tiles 36 put in place in the manner hereinbefore described.

Thus, there has been provided a simple, yet effective, expansion joint which is completely and continuously supported along its length in a direct manner from the mounting base or sub-floor so that the expansion joint cannot yield under its design load. The upper load receiving edges 28 of the leg portions are evenly supported from the mounting base to withstand sharp impacts to thereby protect the adjacent tile edges from chipping or breakage heretofore caused when sharp impacts were directed at the edge of the tile.

I claim:

1. A tilework construction comprising a support base, a mortar bed disposed over said support base, a plurality of tiles set into said mortar bed, and a unitary expansion joint including first and second spaced parallel elongate angle members, said angle members including means forming outwardly extending continuous flange portions resting upon said support surface and further including upwardly extending continuous planar leg portions extending at right angles to said flange portions and having a height thereabove substantially equal to the thickness of the tile and mortar on said support surface, said angle members being positioned back-to-back and having their flange portions extending in opposite directions on a common plane and having their leg portions extending upwardly, a flat strip of resilient material disposed between said leg portions, said strip having spaced parallel sidewalls lying in contact with said leg portions to support said leg portion in spaced apart parallel relationship and extending at least to the lower extremity of said'common plane, said strip including an upper portion extending continuously between the leg portions with its upper surface flush with the top of said leg portions to thereby provide together with the top of the leg portions a support surface which is flush with the surface of the tilework in which the assembly is used, and rivet-like means extending through the leg portions and through the strip permanently interconnecting the leg portions and the resilient means together to form a self-supporting prealigned unitary expansion joint assembly, said first and second angles, said strip, and said rivet-like means forming the sole parts of said expansion joint.

2. A tilework construction comprising a support base having a longitudinal recess forming an expansion slot therein, an expansion joint including a pair of spaced parallel elongate angle members, each of said members having an outwardly extending continuous flange portion resting upon said support surface, and upwardly extending planar leg portions extending at right angles to said flange portions and having a height above the flange portions substantially equal to the thickness of the tilework to be laid, said members being positioned back to back with their flange portions extending in opposite directions in a common plane and their leg portions extending upwardly in spaced parallel planes, a flat strip formed of resilient compressible material disposed between the leg portions, said strip being constructed with dimensions Sufficient to substantially fill the space therebetween and with a portion depending below said common plane, means interconnecting the leg portions with the strip therebetween to form a unitary assembly, said expansion joint being positioned over the lonigtudinal recess, the depending portion of said strip lying therein to thereby bring the expansion slot of the support base and the expansion joint of the tilework in coincidence, a mortar bed disposed over said support base, and a plurality of tiles set into said mortar bed, the edges of the tiles adjacent the expansion joint being close to the upper edge of the joint and at the same level therewith.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,742,855 1/1930 Galassi 94-18 1,250,623 12/1917 Munro 52390 X 2,481,972 9/1949 Betts 52396 X 3,328,934 7/1967 Hall 52-391 FOREIGN PATENTS 225,395 8/ 1960 Austria.

513,907 10/ 1939 Great Britain.

896,034 5/ 1962 Great Britain.

HENRY C. SUTHERLAND, Primary Examiner. 

